The Sacrifice
by SoundShield11
Summary: Seth has always loved his sister's boyfriend, Sam Uley. What happens when wolves and imprints get involved? Who will be the one that has to sacrifice for everyone else to be happy? One Shot.


AN: Hello everyone, I decided to try my hand at a short story this time. This is a One Shot, which isn't something I've ever written. The story is in Seth's POV. The pairing is...well, sorta Sam/Seth, but probably more accurately a Sam/Leah.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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The Sacrifice

"Don't do it, Leah!" I screamed as she began approaching the cliff's edge.

"Why not, Seth? I have nothing left! How could you do this to me?" She yelled back, tears streaming down her cheeks.

I panicked as the only idea that came to me tore my soul apart. "He's yours, Leah. I want nothing but his friendship. You can keep Sam." I responded, feeling the despair set in as I watched the words sink into my sister's mind, causing her to begin to change her attitude.

I guess I should probably explain how we got here…

***Flashback***

Sam was my sister's boyfriend. Everyone expected him to ask her to marry him in the near future. As happy as I was for them, I couldn't help but to feel bitter. The truth was, I was jealous.

People knew that I was gay. I hadn't kept it a secret from anyone, admitting my feelings when I knew that they weren't going to go away. My parents had taken it in stride, and despite a few jokes, even Leah had been completely supportive.

What people didn't know was that I was completely obsessed with Sam. His body was the definition of perfection. His personality was serious, but always caring. There was nothing about him that I didn't love. He was always kind to me, sticking up for me despite our age gap, putting up with my occasional bouts of immaturity, and treating me like his little brother. It was in his nature to be caring, even if he didn't show it to everyone.

Unfortunately, I knew these were all horrible things for me to crave. He was deeply in love with my sister, and even if the offer presented itself, I'd never take away her happiness. They were so obviously meant to be.

Then came the day that he disappeared. My sister was distraught, but my parents seemed eerily calm about it. You'd think they'd be worried where their future son-in-law had gotten off to. I spent many nights comforting my sister as she cried herself to sleep, not knowing whether or not Sam was even alive.

Then he suddenly reappeared. Although I only saw him from a distance, I could see that his body had become even more impressive. He kept away from us though and my parents warned Leah to stay away for a while, but that they expected that it'd be all right soon enough. Needless to say, Leah was happy to see that he was all right, but completely perplexed by his behavior. She accepted our parents' request however, knowing that their guidance had never set us astray before.

In the coming weeks, Sam picked up several followers. It began with Jared and Paul, but soon he was accompanied by Jake and his best friends, Embry and Quil. They all stayed away from everyone else, but we could sense that something was different.

Finally, however, there was a knock on the door. I went to get it, thinking it might be Brady or Collin, the only two people who I hung out with. Imagine my surprise when the mountain of a man stood in the doorway. Our eyes met and Sam looked to be caught in a daze. Suddenly he snapped out of it, a look of terror on his face as he fled into the nearby woods. I was ridiculously confused, but decided that it'd play out soon enough. There was too much going on to try and figure it out at this point.

That night our parents called Leah and I down for a meeting. In the kitchen sat Sam, a look of pain on his face as Leah flung herself at him, wrapping her arms around his broad chest. "We have something to discuss" my father said in a serious tone.

"You two know the legends about the wolves." My father began. We both nodded, not really understanding where he was going. "Well, the truth is that they're not just legends. Sam here is the leader of the new generation of wolves." He continued.

"So, why are you telling us? Do you expect us to follow?" I asked.

"It's very possible, but that's not what this is about. Wolves have this ability to do something called imprinting. It's basically when they find their other half. They become whatever their imprint needs them to be." My father explained.

"And this matters, why?" Leah asked, clearly not caring about anything other than the fact that Sam was back.

"I imprinted" Sam muttered, looking Leah in the eyes.

"So we were meant to be! I always knew that we were!" she exclaimed, placing a kiss on his lips.

"I…I imprinted on Seth." He said, his eyes falling to the floor. I looked up in shock, seeing Leah tense up and begin to shake as she took in the information.

"You did what! You were supposed to be mine!" she yelled, slapping him as she stormed out of the room, barely making it through the door before she exploded into a grey wolf.

The rapid information hit me and I chased after her, knowing what she was going to do. I had to stop her, and something dormant inside of me knew it. It rose to the surface and I began to chase after her, a sandy blur of a wolf. We raced through the woods, finally making it to the cliffs before she changed back, slowly approaching the edge of the cliff, knowing that the rocks jutting out of the water would end her pain. And that, my friends, is how we ended up here.

***Present Day***

We phased back into our wolf forms and headed back to the house. After putting on some clothes, we met back in the kitchen where Sam and my parents remained.

"So, what are you going to do?" my mother asked worriedly.

"This changes nothing." I responded. "I want Sam in the same way I've always had him. He's my brother and one of my best friends, but he belongs with Leah." I concluded.

Sam seemed to be hesitant in taking Leah back into his arms, but nodded as he accepted what I had asked from him out of the imprint.

Things didn't get easier after that. There were vampires, battles, and conflicts that dominated the next months. Still, Sam and Leah remained together and I knew that as soon as all of this was behind us, he'd move forward with marrying Leah and having her move in with him. Although I was happy to see that my sister couldn't be more thrilled, the pain of seeing into his mind and watching them together was eating away at me. Nobody knew just how much I was drawn to him, as they believed that no one could turn away the feelings for an imprint.

It was Collin & Brady who called me out on it. We had always been close and since the pair had joined the pack, they seemed to be the only ones who could sense that something was troubling me.

"You actually love him, don't you?" Brady asked as we patrolled one afternoon. I skidded to a stop, freezing at the interrogation.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I responded, trying to keep my pent up feelings behind the veil.

"Who are you kidding?" Collin asked. "We've given you your space, but come on. The fact that the others can't see how much you've been blocked from them is ridiculous Seth, but don't begin to even think that we haven't noticed." He chided.

That was the day I broke down, phasing out and just crying in the forest. It wasn't long before the other two were with me, trying to comfort me as I let it out. They escorted me out of the woods once I was finally able to pull myself together, but I refused to phase at that point. They knew my secret, but the last thing I wanted was for them to get a taste of how it truly felt. I still made them vow to keep it contained, refusing to come in between Sam and Leah. They wearily agreed, not happy, but accepted it after seeing my insistence on it.

After a while we finally reached a point when the pack was no longer needed on a regular basis. There hadn't been any leeches in a good while, the Cullens were gone, and many of the pack had given up phasing. I still enjoyed just running to wear myself out, but it was rare to feel anyone else's mind while I was driving myself through the forest.

It wasn't long after Sam and Leah gave up phasing that he finally proposed. It had been years in the making, but to see the ring on her finger was something that tore me apart. I faked a smile, hugged her, and acted out the part of a supportive brother. Tears of pain aren't that different from tears of happiness, especially when you're not trying to think about it.

She insisted that I help plan the wedding, even wanting to make me be part of the wedding party. To say that I wanted anything to do with this would be a complete lie, but I went along with it. I went with her as she picked out the dress, tasted food for the reception, and did whatever else I could to get us to the day.

The wedding day came and I stood out on the cliff with the pack, all decked out in suits. One by one they left to make sure the final preparations were made, leaving me alone to look out over the water.

This is where it had all happened. This is where I gave up my soul mate to keep my sister from making a rash decision. Her happiness was more important than my own, and I knew that this is really what Sam actually wanted. It would have been selfish of me to take him as mine.

That didn't stop the pain, however. It had all started as an infatuation, but since phasing for the first time, it had grown so much. My wolf was clawing at me for allowing its mate to be with someone else, not having the same connection to my sister that I did. I kept it at bay, however, refusing to cave to its cravings. I still felt it, and over the months it had become extremely difficult to plaster on my smile every day.

I looked down at the rocks and chuckled slight at the importance of this spot. If I had been too late, I'd have felt guilty, but I probably would have ended up with Sam, even if the origins of the relationship would have been a painful memory. That would never happen now, and the bitterness that I felt about always having to be the one suffering to keep others happy finally took over. What I did next was no rash decision. Months of pain demanded release, and as I stepped over the edge, I closed my eyes and smiled. It would all be over soon enough…

**The End**

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Well, there you have it. This is not an indicator that I've decided to write another chapter fic anytime soon, but I did have this idea drawn up. Hope you enjoyed, even if it wasn't a very happy piece. As always, I hope you'll feel inclined to leave a review. Thanks for reading!


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